Safety device for firearms



Aug. 9, 1938. G. s. I r-:wlsA

SAFETY DEVICE FOR FIREARMS Filed May 14, 1936 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Aug. 9,1938. G. s. LEWIS 2,125,933

SAFETY DEVICE FOR FIREARMS Filed May 141 1936 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Aug. 9, 1938 UNTED STATES PATENT OFFEQE SAFETY DEVICE FOR FIREARMS Application May 14, 1936, Serial No. 79,674

2 Claims.

This invention relates to an improvement in safety devices for guarding against the inadvertent firing or discharge of a firearm.

Heretofore, in providing firearms with safety 5 devices for guarding against the unintentio-nal discharge thereof, it has been most common practice to provide a shiftable member which could be interposed into the path of movement of one of the elements of the firing-mechanism. As

V will'appear from the following, the present invention contemplates an improved safety mechanism in which a shiftable locking-member is carried by one of the elements of the ring-mechanism, such, for instance, as the trigger, and which 5 may be manually shifted for engagement with a rigid and sturdy abutment.

One of the objects of the present invention is to provide a superior safety device which may be produced at a low cost for manufacture.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a safety device o-r mechanism characterized by simplicity, surety of function and ruggedness.

A further object is to provide a safety device or mechanism of the class referred to, in which the releasing of the firing-mechanism of a rearm may be positively prevented by means engaging a fixed portion of the firearm structure.

With the above and other objects in view, as

o will appear to those skilled in the art from the following, considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and appended claims, the present invention includes all features disclosed therein which are novel over the prior art.

In the accompanying drawings:

Fig. 1 is a bro-ken view in side elevation of a firearm equipped with a safety device embodying the present improvements;

Fig. 2 is a View thereof, partly in side elevation and partly in vertical longitudinal section, showing the trigger-locking member in its locking position;

Fig. 3 is a View corresponding to Fig. 2, showing the positions which the parts assume after the trigger-locking member has been moved into its unlocking position and the trigger has been operated to effect the discharge of the rearm;

Fig. 4 is a transverse sectional view taken on the line 4--4 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 5 is a broken perspective view of the upper tang;

Fig. 6 is a perspective view of the safety-operating slide;

Fig. 7 is a similar view of the trigger-locking member; and

Fig. 8 is a broken perspective view showing the safety mechanism and some of its associated parts.

The particular firearm herein chosen for the illustration of the present invention includes a frame 20, from which forwardly extends a barrel 2| having a forestock 22 secured to its under-side. The said frame is also provided with a rear- Wardly-extending upper butt-attaching tang 23 and a similarly-extending lower butt-attaching tang 24, to both of which tangs is secured a buttstock 25.

The'lower butt-attaching tang 24, above referred to, is provided with a central longitudinal slot 26, through which extends a trigger 21 co-m- 515 prising a depending finger-piece 28 located within a trigger-guard 29 attached to the under-side of the frame 20, and a rearwardly-extending actuating-arm 3D. The said trigger is mounted for pivotal movement upon a pin 3| mounted in the :20 lower butt-attaching tang 24.

Normally resting upon the actuating-arm 30 of the trigger 21 is an actuating-finger 32 laterally extending from a sear 33, a portion of which latter extends into a recess 34 fo-rmed in the spac-v ing-pillar 35 interconnecting the respective rear ends of the butt-attaching tangs 23 and 24. The said sear is pivoted to the spacing-pillar 35 by means of a screw-stud 36 and has at its upper forward edge a laterally-extending cocking-n- '30 ger 31 adapted to hook over the cooking-head 33 of a firing-plunger 39. The said firing-plunger 39 or equivalent firing-member requires no detailed description herein other than to say that in the usual manner of firearms, it is normally urged forward to fire a cartridge in the barrel 2| by suitable spring-means.

The actuating-finger 32 of the sear 33 is maintained in engagement with the upper surface of the actuating-arm 30 of the trigger 21 by a double-armed spring ll looped around the screwstud 35 before referred to, and having its lower arm 4| hooked over the lower forward portion of the sear 33 and having its relatively-short upper arm 42 engaged with the under-side of the 45 adjacent portion of the upper tang 23 of the frame 20.

Pivotally secured at its lower end, by means of a rivet 43, to the rear end of the actuating-arm 3|l of the trigger 21, is a pivotal locking-member 50 44. The under-edge of the locking-member 44, just referred to, is engageable with the upper surface of the lower butt-attaching tang 24 to one side of the slot 26 therein to limit the reverse swinging movement of the trigger 21 under the urge of the spring lill. The upper end of the locking-member it which may be conveniently made of heavy sheet-metal is provided with an upwardly-opening coupling-notch Q5, into which fits the cylindrically-contoured lower end of a coupling-finger d6 depending from the bodymember [il of a safety-operating slide generally designated by the numeral d8. The said safetyoperating slide also includes a plate-like topmember fi@ riveted to the said body-member il and adapted to reciprocate on the upper surface of the upper butt-attaching tang 23 of the frame 20. The said plate-like top-member G9 is provided with a struck-up finger-piece 5E) and overlies a. longitudinal locking-member receiving-slot or recess 5! formed in the tang 23 and through which the body-member il downwardly projects into the space between the two complementary tangs 23 and 2d.

For the purpose of yieldingly holding the safety-slide .16 in either one of its two extreme positions, the coupling-finger 136 thereof is profvided with a laterally-offsetting detent-pin 52 which is engage-d by the free end of a detentspring 53 secured to the under-side of the upper butt-attaching tang 23 in a position toi one side of the slot 5l therein. The said detent-spring 53 is formed with a downwardly-extending crimp or hump 5ft under which the detent-pin 52 ef the slide 48 rides from one end to the other of the said crimp, as will be seeny by comparing the showing of Figs. 2 and 3.

When the safety-slide i8 is moved to the limit of its rearward movement, it correspondingly rocks the locking-member M and brings the rear portion of the upper edge of the latter beneath the portion of the tang 23 lying immediately to the rear of the slot 5i therein, as shown in Figs. 2 and 8. The porion of the tang just referred to constitutes a solid stop-abutment 55.

Under the circumstances just referred to, when rearward pressure is exerted upon the ngerpiece 28 of the trigger 27, the appreciable pivotal movement of the said trigger will be prevented by theengagement of the upper edge of the locking-member lli with the stop-abutment 55 of the tang 23. In this manner, the firing-mechanism is prevented from functioning as such by preventing the trigger 2l from moving sufficiently to actuate the sear 33 to a degree necessary to disengage its cooking-linger 3l from the cookinghead 38 of the firing-plunger 39.

When the safety-slide i8 is manually sli-d forwardly into the position in which it is shown in Fig. 3, it will similarly swing the upper end of the locking-member @d and thus bring the upper end of the latter into full registration with the locking-member receiving-slot or recess` 5i and hence out of line with the stop-abutment 55 of the tang 23. Now, when the finger-piece 28 of the trigger 2l' is pulled rearwardly, the latterV will be free to swing to turn the sear 33 and disengage its cooking-finger 3l from the cooking-head 38 of the firing-plunger 39, as shown in Fig. 3, and permit the said plunger to effect the discharge of the rearm. When the trigger 27 is operated, as just described, the upper end of the locking-member Mi moves upwardly into the slot or recess 5i and into a clearance-notch 56 in the under-side of the body-member 41 of the operating-slide 48. The lifting of the locking-member M relative to the safety-slide d8, as just described, is permitted by thel depth of the coupling-notch 5in the said locking-member which is deep enough to permit the movement referred to.

From the foregoing, it will be seen that by mounting a locking-member with capacity for relative movement upon one of the actuatingmembers of the firing-mechanism, the firingmechanism may be firmly and securely locked against inadvertent operation in a reliable and effective manner.

The invention may be carried out in other speciic ways than that herein set forth without departing from the spirit and essential characteristics of the invention, and the present embodiment is therefore to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive, and all changes coming within the meaning and equivalency range of the appended claims are intended to be embraced therein.

I claim: f

1. In a firearm, the combination with a frame having a rearwardly-extending upper tang formed with an opening therein; of a ringmechanism including a trigger; a locking-member pivoted at its lower end to the said trigger and having its upper end projectable into the opening in the tang of the said frame and pro=` vided with an upwardly-opening coupling-notch; and a manual operating-slide positioned upon the upper surface of the tang of the frame, and having a coupling-projection extending through the opening therein and into the upwardly-opening coupling-notch of the said locking-member to couple the latter to the said slide for being rocked thereby, the upper end of the said locking-member being constructed and arranged to be shiftable into one position wherein it registers with the opening in the said tang through which the said coupling-projection extends from the said operating-slide, and the outer end of the said locking-member also being shiftable into another position wherein a portion of its upper end is brought out of registration with the slot in the said tang to thereby prevent the upper end of the said locking-member from entering the slot in the said tang when the trigger is operated.

2. In a rearm, the combination with a frame J tang having a rearwardly-extending upper formed with an opening extending vertically therethrough; of a firing-mechanism including a trigger; a locking-member carried by and pivoted at its lower end to the said trigger and positioned with respect to the opening in the said I frame so as to be upwardly projectable thereinto when in one position of adjustment and to be shifted out or" registration with the said opening when in another position of adjustment; and a manual operating-slide positioned upon the upper surface of the tang of the said frame and having a portion extending into the said opening therein into coupled relationship with the free upper end of the said locking-member to shift the same into and out of registration with the same opening in the said frame, into which a portion of the said operating-slide extends. 

